Fall Festival of Shakespeare Performances Begin Next Month

The Fall Festival of Shakespeare performances begin next month. Hundreds of teenagers will take to the stage for the culmination of the nationally recognized program that places Shakespeare & Company Education Artists in ten local and regional schools, where they lead students in a nine-week exploration of a Shakespeare play. The program's finale includes a series of performances, first at each school, and then at Shakespeare & Company, in the Tina Packer Playhouse. Built on the transformative power of Shakespeare's language and stories, the Fall Festival engages students in a personally meaningful, educationally rigorous and dramatically compelling experience of classical theatre.

"As we are surrounded with advertisement, promotions and entertainments that scream superlatives for our attention, the Fall Festival stands alone in its depth of content, its demand for personal courage and collaborative efforts," says Education Director Kevin G. Coleman. "Each year the Festival brings Shakespeare's plays alive for hundreds of students who, in the process, both discover and reveal what it means to be human. This is the essence of theatre, and the heart of education. This is the reason and the pleasure of the Fall Festival of Shakespeare. "

For more information on the Fall Festival of Shakespeare and other Education Programs, please contact Associate Director of Education Jenna Ware at (413) 637-1199 ext. 172. To RSVP or to arrange interviews, please contact Molly Clancy, Publicity & Playbill Director by phone at (413) 637-1199, ext. 145, or by email Mclancy@shakespeare.org.

Led by Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman and Associate Director of Education Jenna Ware, the Fall Festival is a celebration, rather than a competition. Students are encouraged to delve into Shakespeare's works, unpacking the language and savoring the humor, intensity and transcendent beauty of Shakespeare's plays. Daily rehearsals focus on students' personal responses to the text and connection to language. Students also have the opportunity to develop skills in stage combat, performance aesthetics, dance, technical theatre, stage management, marketing and publicity, during their Fall Festival experience. Shakespeare & Company's set, prop, lighting, sound, technical and costume staff collaborate with the directing teams and students to create a unique design for each play.

The ten participating schools of 2014 include: Chatham High School (New York), Lee High School, Lenox Memorial High School, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Mount Everett Regional High School, Mount Greylock Regional High School, North Andover High School, , Springfield Central High School, Taconic High School and Taconic Hills Regional High School (New York). This year's team of Fall Festival directors include: Ally Allen, Caroline Calkins, Annie Considine, Michael Cremonini Lori Evans, Janie Gibson, Dana Harrison, Lavina Jadhwani, Tom Jaeger, Caitlin Kraft, Lezlie Lee, Carmen-maria Mandley, Josh Aaron McCabe, A.D. Newcomer, Luke Reed, Douglas Seldin, Dara Silverman, Maizy Scarpa, Enrico Spada, Emma Weinstein and Josephine Wilson.

The Fall Festival program is supported in part by Deborah and Bill M. Ryan; Jeffrey Konowitch and Wendy Laurin and by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; Massachusetts Cultural Council; Golub Foundation; Xeric Foundation; Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation; Berkshire Bank Foundation; Lee, Tyringham, Springfield, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, Monterey, New Marlborough, Sheffield, West Stockbridge, North Andover, Pittsfield and Lenox Cultural Councils, local agencies supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; and a coalition of local businesses, families, and individuals.

Fall Festival of Shakespeare Performance Schedule
Tina Packer Playhouse, November 20-23, 2014

Thursday 6:15 - Welcoming
Thursday 6:30 - Chatham High School - Hamlet
Thursday 8:30 - Lee High School - Richard III
Friday 6:30 - Lenox Memorial High School - Hamlet
Friday 8:30 - Mt. Greylock Regional High School - The Winter's Tale
Saturday 1:30 - Monument Mountain Regional High School - The Winter's Tale
Saturday 3:30 - Taconic High School - Twelfth Night
Saturday 6:15 - Mt. Everett Regional High School - Henry V
Saturday 8:30 - Springfield Central High School - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Sunday 1:30 - Taconic Hills High School - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Sunday 3:30 - North Andover High School - Romeo and Juliet
Sunday 5:00 - Closing celebration

In School Performance Schedule
Mt. Greylock Regional High School - Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm and Saturday, Nov. 15th at 7pm
Taconic High School - Thursday, Nov. 13th at 7pm and Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm
Lenox Memorial High School - Thursday, Nov. 13th at 7pm and Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm
Lee High School - Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm and Saturday, Nov. 15th at 7pm
Monument Mountain Regional High School - Thursday, Nov. 13th at 7pm and Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm
Mt. Everett Regional High School - Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm and Saturday, Nov. 15th at 1pm
Springfield Central High School - Thursday, Nov. 13th at 7pm, Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm and Saturday, Nov. 15th at 2pm
Chatham High School - Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm and Saturday, Nov. 15th at 7pm
Taconic Hills High School - Friday, Nov. 14th at 7pm and Saturday, Nov. 15th at 2pm & 7pm
North Andover High School - Friday, Nov. 14th at 7:30pm and Saturday, Nov. 15th at 2pm & 7:30pm

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